I personally think that she is useless going to Syria... sure, the terrorists are laughing themselves silly, I am sure. Of course, it seems that she will accomplish something even though, we all know that she can't - Not really.

Thoughts??

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To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe. Author: Anatole

Lebanon is our ally, not Syria. This is a real slap in their faces. A disaster! Unless, of course, she is endorsing the assassination of Harare (sp/)??

And Israel denying saying any such things to her, that ridiculous headscarf, I wonder if she bowed toward Mecca as well.

That narrow victory from last November has really gone to their heads. Now we have Prime Minister Pelosi as well as Generals Pelosi, Reid and Murtha.

I cannot imagine our national security in the hands of these people. They are already abusing the power that they have and making tremendous power grabs in areas where they are not entitled. No one elected any one of these mere legislators as President and until that should happen, as it well may, they have no right to assume they have the power of that office as well as their own branch of government.

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PERSONA NON GRATA

All posts reflect my opinion only and are not shared by all forum members nor intended as statement of facts. I am doing the best I can with the information available.

Normally, I doubt that such a thing as evoking the Logan Act would be considered but given the new litigous atmosphere our worst congress in the history of this country has brought with them with their constant threats of inquisitions and subpeonas of those whom they have no authority over, well, it is a thought to fight fire with fire. I do believe techincally she is in violation.

From the Wall Street Journal:

Illegal Diplomacy Did Nancy Pelosi commit a felony when she went to Syria?

BY ROBERT F. TURNER Friday, April 6, 2007 11:30 a.m. EDT House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may well have committed a felony in traveling to Damascus this week, against the wishes of the president, to communicate on foreign-policy issues with Syrian President Bashar Assad. The administration isn't going to want to touch this political hot potato, nor should it become a partisan issue. Maybe special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, whose aggressive prosecution of Lewis Libby establishes his independence from White House influence, should be called back.

The Logan Act makes it a felony and provides for a prison sentence of up to three years for any American, "without authority of the United States," to communicate with a foreign government in an effort to influence that government's behavior on any "disputes or controversies with the United States." Some background on this statute helps to understand why Ms. Pelosi may be in serious trouble.

President John Adams requested the statute after a Pennsylvania pacifist named George Logan traveled to France in 1798 to assure the French government that the American people favored peace in the undeclared "Quasi War" being fought on the high seas between the two countries. In proposing the law, Rep. Roger Griswold of Connecticut explained that the object was, as recorded in the Annals of Congress, "to punish a crime which goes to the destruction of the executive power of the government. He meant that description of crime which arises from an interference of individual citizens in the negotiations of our executive with foreign governments."

The debate on this bill ran nearly 150 pages in the Annals. On Jan. 16, 1799, Rep. Isaac Parker of Massachusetts explained, "the people of the United States have given to the executive department the power to negotiate with foreign governments, and to carry on all foreign relations, and that it is therefore an usurpation of that power for an individual to undertake to correspond with any foreign power on any dispute between the two governments, or for any state government, or any other department of the general government, to do it."

Griswold and Parker were Federalists who believed in strong executive power. But consider this statement by Albert Gallatin, the future Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson, who was wary of centralized government: "it would be extremely improper for a member of this House to enter into any correspondence with the French Republic . . . As we are not at war with France, an offence of this kind would not be high treason, yet it would be as criminal an act, as if we were at war." Indeed, the offense is greater when the usurpation of the president's constitutional authority is done by a member of the legislature--all the more so by a Speaker of the House--because it violates not just statutory law but constitutes a usurpation of the powers of a separate branch and a breach of the oath of office Ms. Pelosi took to support the Constitution.

The Supreme Court has spoken clearly on this aspect of the separation of powers. In Marbury v. Madison, Chief Justice John Marshall used the president's authority over the Department of State as an illustration of those "important political powers" that, "being entrusted to the executive, the decision of the executive is conclusive." And in the landmark 1936 Curtiss-Wright case, the Supreme Court reaffirmed: "Into the field of negotiation the Senate cannot intrude, and Congress itself is powerless to invade it." Ms. Pelosi and her Congressional entourage spoke to President Assad on various issues, among other things saying, "We came in friendship, hope, and determined that the road to Damascus is a road to peace." She is certainly not the first member of Congress--of either party--to engage in this sort of behavior, but her position as a national leader, the wartime circumstances, the opposition to the trip from the White House, and the character of the regime she has chosen to approach make her behavior particularly inappropriate.

Of course, not all congressional travel to, or communications with representatives of, foreign nations is unlawful. A purely fact-finding trip that involves looking around, visiting American military bases or talking with U.S. diplomats is not a problem. Nor is formal negotiation with foreign representatives if authorized by the president. (FDR appointed Sens. Tom Connally and Arthur Vandenberg to the U.S. delegation that negotiated the U.N. Charter.) Ms. Pelosi's trip was not authorized, and Syria is one of the world's leading sponsors of international terrorism. It has almost certainly been involved in numerous attacks that have claimed the lives of American military personnel from Beirut to Baghdad.

The U.S. is in the midst of two wars authorized by Congress. For Ms. Pelosi to flout the Constitution in these circumstances is not only shortsighted; it may well be a felony, as the Logan Act has been part of our criminal law for more than two centuries. Perhaps it is time to enforce the law.

Mr. Turner was acting assistant secretary of state for legislative affairs in 1984-85 and is a former chairman of the ABA standing committee on law and national security.

We all know that President Bush, however, is not about to play by their rules nor stoop to their level. I just wish that he would. Declare a couple of these Enemies of the State while they are abroad smoozing with our enemies and stabbing our allies in the back. We all have to have our little dreams.

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PERSONA NON GRATA

All posts reflect my opinion only and are not shared by all forum members nor intended as statement of facts. I am doing the best I can with the information available.

Once upon a time, Lebanon was our ally. Until the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed relative calm and prosperity. It was considered the banking capital of the Arab world and was widely known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East" due to its financial power. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the "Paris of the Middle East." People were pouring out of Lebanon in the early 70s. I knew a huge group of people who had to leave.

After the war, as far as I know, Lebanon never returned to its former status. It was fully occupied by Hezbollah and Syria last year during the the 2006 Lebanon War.

In the 2006 war, I know one family personally who managed to get out and leave everything behind.

My point, today's Lebanon is not the Lebanon it used to be. It is not in control of itself. It is occupied. It is no longer our ally.

I almost threw up when I read that Nancy Pelosi spoke to the Arabs about why they didn't have women in any positions of power. This from the party that claims that BUSH wants to push his policies down other's throats?

It really puts women back to the dark ages when women of "power" act like idiots, and clearly this is a fine example of stupid is as stupid does.

I can't even type coherently about how angry this made me... the ONLY redeeming qualilty will be if people now wake the hell up and pay attention to who they put in office.

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To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe. Author: Anatole

Once upon a time, Lebanon was our ally. Until the Lebanese Civil War (1975-1990), the country enjoyed relative calm and prosperity. It was considered the banking capital of the Arab world and was widely known as the "Switzerland of the Middle East" due to its financial power. Lebanon also attracted large numbers of tourists to the point that the capital Beirut became widely referred to as the "Paris of the Middle East." People were pouring out of Lebanon in the early 70s. I knew a huge group of people who had to leave.

After the war, as far as I know, Lebanon never returned to its former status. It was fully occupied by Hezbollah and Syria last year during the the 2006 Lebanon War.

In the 2006 war, I know one family personally who managed to get out and leave everything behind.

My point, today's Lebanon is not the Lebanon it used to be. It is not in control of itself. It is occupied. It is no longer our ally.

Oh, so now SYRIA is our ally???? Maybe you had better get in contact with the State Dept pronto and let them know this because they are still acting under the assumption that our ally in this is Lebanon.

How fortunate we are to have folks like you who know more than Dept of State about these things!

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PERSONA NON GRATA

All posts reflect my opinion only and are not shared by all forum members nor intended as statement of facts. I am doing the best I can with the information available.

It's very hard to love both! Not only is Pelosi out of bounds in just about every conceivable manner from legal to diplomatic, she actually seems too stupid to fully grasp the implications of what she is doing and seems to think herself just like a soccer mom on a field trip!

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HATING AMERICA, LOVING NANCY By AMIR TAHERI

April 6, 2007 -- 'THE other face of America": So Arab media and political circles describe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as she winds up her tour of the Middle East amid criticism from the Bush administration. And there is little doubt that much of the Arab elite likes that face better than the one presented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in her trips to the region. "She is the friendly face of America," says a senior Syrian official. "Where Condi frowns, Nancy smiles."

Pelosi calls her tour a fact-finding exercise. But, judging by the substantial negotiations she engaged in, hers was a full-fledged diplomatic mission. At least, this is how most Arabs see it.

Pelosi was specially feted in Damascus, capital of Syria - the oldest member of the club of "nations sponsoring international terrorism," according to the State Department. "Her visit was a godsend to an isolated and beleaguered regime," says a Lebanese minister. "The Syrian regime, which had been thinking of bowing to international pressure, is now reassured: All it has to do is to wait until Pelosi's party takes over the White House in 2009."

The Pelosi mission confirms the analysis made by Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that the United States is incapable of developing and implementing a long-term strategy. In this analysis, America might wake up one morning and decide to do the exact opposite of what it has been doing for years.

The region's most radical elements liked Pelosi best if only because she endorsed their campaign of vilification against the Bush administration. In effect, her motto was: Surrender before you have to, and claim credit for it. She represented a superpower that, because no one can take away anything from it, is prepared to give away everything.

The Pelosi Doctrine, as demonstrated during the tour, is the opposite of the Bush Doctrine spelled out in 2002.

The Bush Doctrine links America's national security to democratization in the Middle East. It asserts that undemocratic states serve as breeding grounds for terrorism the way that marshes breed mosquitoes. The United States should therefore throw its weight behind those forces and governments that promote reform in the region.

In practical terms, this means a number of things, such as 1) using force to remove regimes that lack internal mechanisms for change, as was the case with the Taliban in Afghanistan and the Saddamites in Iraq; and 2) persuading friendly regimes to broaden their popular base, liberalize their economies and open up the social and political space, as is the case in Egypt and Jordan, among others.

Elsewhere, the Bush Doctrine envisages robust opposition to the ambitions of such opportunist powers as Syria (in its quest to dominate Lebanon) and the Islamic Republic in Iran (in its pursuit of regional hegemony).

In the Bush Doctrine, the Israel-Palestine conflict is regarded as an almost peripheral problem, best tackled when the region is democratized, liberalized and woven into the global system.

Implicity, the Bush Doctrine presumes that America represents a political system that is morally superior to that of its adversaries in the Middle East. The doctrine is idea-driven, not to say idealistic.

The Pelosi Doctrine, by contrast, is based on cynical realpolitik. It rejects the idea that the U.S. political system, or the culture in which it is rooted, is in any way better, let alone superior, to systems developed by others across the globe, including the Middle East.

Pelosi applies the tenets of multiculturalism to international affairs: All systems are comparable; all systems are of equal value. Other cultures might not be as good as hers - but hers sure can be as bad as theirs.

The Pelosi Doctrine opposes the use of force, even against aggressive anti-American regimes. Throughout her tour, the speaker made it clear that she was determined to hasten the withdrawal of American troops from Iraq, with hints that the U.S. military presence in Afghanistan would also be "reviewed." Pelosi's America would fight back only in self-defense and rejects preemptive war. Under the Pelosi Doctrine, the United States must work with regimes in place, including those perceived as threats.

Pelosi also restores the status of the Israel-Palestine conflict as the ur-issue of the region, if not of international life as a whole, and seeks to resume Washington's role as mediator. She rejects what some Arabs see as President Bush's partiality toward Israel and urges a return to the evenhandedness that America demonstrated in the last years of the Clinton presidency.

What would the Middle East look like if the Pelosi Doctrine becomes the matrix of U.S. foreign policy?

America would withdraw from Iraq before the new Iraqi regime is capable of defending itself against its internal and external foes. Iraq's fate would be in the hands of rival regional powers - led by Iran's Islamic Republic - along with their clients in Iraq.

Afghanistan's new democratic regime would also come under possibly fatal pressure. The country's fate would then be in the hands of rival powers - notably Iran, Pakistan and Russia - in conjunction with their Afghan clients.

In the absence of pressure from Washington, the region's current trend toward reform and liberalization would largely come to a halt. Concerned about the rise of radical forces and greater hostility from revolutionary actors, such as the Islamic Republic in Tehran and the revived al Qaeda, Arab regimes would postpone democratization and revert to repressive methods.

Lebanon's "Cedar Revolution" would fade into memory, as Syrian troops return to Beirut to resume occupation.

The Pelosization of U.S. foreign policy would also encourage the "one-state" camp with regard to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Most regional powers support a two-state solution in the context of the Saudi Peace Proposals - but the two-state option is based on the assumption that America remains an active element in its support, rather than a mediator hedging its bets.

Pelosization could plunge the Middle East into endless civil and regional wars, facilitate the return of terrorist organizations now facing defeat and ultimate destruction, and, in time, threaten U.S. national security on a grander scale. That, in turn, could force the United States into wars bigger and costlier than the ones in Afghanistan and Iraq that Pelosi regards as mistakes.

Since the assassination of Hariri, we have seen the forced withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon followed shortly by the removal of many of their intelligence operatives.

This represents the best bet in recent history the Lebanese have for regaining their country. It may in fact be their last chance to do so.

This is why it is so important not to go all wobbly on the citizens of Lebanon now of all times. It is why this pandering to Syria is such a shocking disgraceful thing for Pelosi to be doing. Do we really want to send the message to Lebanon that we no longer support them against the take over by Syria?

And the UN has implicated Syria directly in that assassination. Is Pelosi just OK with this? The liberal mind set that says it is wrong to discriminate and that all must be considered equal is the beginning of the downfall of this nation. With it has come the loss of the ability to discern.

If we are all equal then I will be equal with the greatest, right? And nevermind that it prohibits such common sense things as profiling for terrorists. So perhaps to Pelosi's fuzzy way of thinking, Syria is just the same as Lebanon so why shouldn't she visit them as well?

The loss of the ability to discern right from wrong and moral relevance with the claim that one theory or religion or country or whatever is just as good as another is going to prove to be suicidal for this country. Yet far too many have been indoctrinated into this way of thinking in the government excuses for schools that are nothing more than experiments in social engineering.

I hope there are enough of us left who can still discern right from wrong to prevent this but I am no longer certain that there are. After all, to say one thing is good and another is bad is proof of discrimination against something and we have been taught that this is wrong! Well, it isn't. That is how we determine things. Yes, racial discrimination is wrong but not moral discrimination. A little Swedish granny does NOT pose the same threat as nine Muslim men asking for seat belt extenders no matter who says so! Think before it's too late and while you still can!

The United Nations named four pro-Syrian generals and a former legislator as suspects Tuesday in the February assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri ¡ª the first major break in a crime that transformed Lebanon, AP reported.

U.N. investigators were interrogating the men at a hilltop hotel overlooking Beirut after searching the generals' homes. The Lebanese government, acting at the request of the U.N., detained three of the suspects; a fourth surrendered for questioning and a fifth returned from Syria, promising to cooperate.

The moves against such once-powerful generals and politicians ¡ª who had readily executed Syrian policy in Lebanon ¡ª would have been unthinkable a few months ago when the country and its government were still under Syrian control.

But Syria's troop withdrawal in April has turned the country's power structure on its head. After Hariri's assassination, Damascus ended its nearly three-decade domination of the country under intense domestic and international pressure. New parliamentary elections swept anti-Syrian politicians into government.

Tuesday's startling developments, however, still could produce serious political fallout in the country, particularly by targeting the commander of the Presidential Guards Brigade, Brig. Gen. Mustafa Hamdan, who provides security for and is an associate of pro-Syrian President Emile Lahoud, a bitter political foe of Hariri. Hamdan voluntarily appeared for questioning.

Lahoud said the summonses were not arrests and praised Hamdan as "one of the best officers in the Lebanese army."

Besides Hamdan, the generals swept up in Tuesday's actions were: Maj. Gen. Jamil Sayyed, former chief of the powerful General Security department; Maj. Gen. Ali Hajj, former police chief; and Brig. Gen. Raymond Azar, former head of military intelligence.

The four generals already have been questioned by German prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, the U.N. chief investigator who requested that the men be summoned.

Details of the investigation are secret and nothing was known about what evidence led to the detentions. All of those being interrogated were still in custody late Tuesday and could not be reached for comment. They have not been visited by lawyers.

Three other officers and Hamdan's brother also were detained for questioning, state television reported.

Mehlis also summoned former legislator Nasser Qandil, a staunch defender of Syria's influence in Lebanon. Qandil was in Syria when police went to his Beirut house; he later returned by car and was escorted by two police vehicles from the Lebanese border to the capital. In brief comments to reporters, he said he would cooperate with the investigation.

"I place myself at their (U.N. team's) disposal and at the disposal of anything that leads to speeding up the unveiling of the truth" in Hariri's murder, Qandil said.

Hariri was assassinated in a massive bombing on a Beirut street Feb. 14 that also killed 20 others. The attack prompted mass anti-Syrian protests and intensified international pressure on Syria to withdraw its army, ending 29 years of control of its neighbor.

Many Lebanese blamed Hariri's assassination on Syria and pro-Syrian elements of their government. Syria and its Lebanese allies denied any involvement.

Since Hariri's killing, a series of smaller bombs have exploded in commercial centers and cars, killing several people, including two anti-Syrian activists.

Prime Minister Fuad Saniora, who is opposed to Syrian influence in this country, sought to reassure the public while expressing confidence in the Mehlis investigation. "Lebanon is all right and the world will only collapse on the heads of the criminals," he said Tuesday.

Army and police street patrols were visibly increased in Beirut and around the headquarters of the U.N. investigative team and the U.N. office in the capital. In Hariri's southern Lebanese hometown of Sidon, about 100 people marched, waving victory banners and pictures of the slain leader.

Despite the seeming breakthrough in the case, many people already feared the consequences of the investigation, particularly if it blamed Syria or those beholden to Damascus, which retains considerable influence in Lebanon.

On Tuesday, a top U.N. official told the U.N. Security Council that Syria was still not cooperating with the investigation, despite appeals from the world body, U.S. deputy ambassador Anne Patterson told reporters in New York.

The comment from Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari came after the United Nations last week accused the Syrians of refusing to turn over documents and ignoring requests for interviews.

Still, Saad Hariri, son of the slain leader and head of the biggest parliamentary bloc, praised the moves as "the beginning to justice."

"We have been waiting for a while to arrive at the truth. This is the beginning. ... The most important thing is to know who killed Rafik Hariri," he told pan-Arab Al-Arabiya satellite television in an interview from Paris.

He and some other politicians and prominent journalists were staying outside Lebanon, claiming they feared further violence as tensions in the country rose ahead of Mehlis' issuing his findings. There has been talk in Lebanon of a "hit list" targeting prominent Lebanese.

While there have been many assassinations in Lebanon over the decades, particularly during the 1975-90 civil war, the political murders have been rarely solved.

The three former security chiefs detained Tuesday had stepped down in April as calls mounted for their dismissal. They have been accused by anti-Syrian groups of negligence in the investigation into the assassination and allegedly tampering with evidence.

Lebanese media have reported that Hajj spied on Hariri for Syria while acting as his military aide; that Sayyed, who also was close to Syria and to Lahoud, had been engaged in a power struggle with Hariri dating back to the 1990s; and that Hamdan allegedly ordered the remains of Hariri's motorcade removed from the scene of the massive bombing.

So what must the Lebanese be thinking with the woman in the ugly headscarf hob-nobbing with the Syrians? We speak internationally with one voice, something lost on Pelosi and her ilk. But then so is the entire system of checks and balances.

Louise,Did you miss the Syrian troop withdrawal from Lebanon after the assassination of Hariri?

No, Lebanon is NOT occupied by Syria. Hezbollah maybe but they are STILL our ally and not Syria.

And the point here is Pelosi going to Syria at this critical time in Lebanese history, their best shot at ever getting their country back.

Nothing like making it appear that we support Syria and not the Lebanese in this for screwing up foreign affairs beyond repair.

But now President and General Pelosi is considering a visit to Iran as well. I wonder how the EU is going to feel about that but guess it really doesn't matter who is our ally and who isn't any more as we have this Coup d'etat taking place. Foreign Policy is specifically listed under the Executive Branch of government but then when did this congress have to follow the Constitution? They seem to be writing their own as they go along.

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PERSONA NON GRATA

All posts reflect my opinion only and are not shared by all forum members nor intended as statement of facts. I am doing the best I can with the information available.

I so agree about Pelosi acting as if she's the general in charge here, she's not doing simple and effective diplomacy - for that would mean ongoing discussions which are not broadcast from every media outlet on the planet so that indeed accords can be achieved and THEN announced.

This is a sham and perhaps she's foolishly taking a personal risk if she does go to Iran, for if Iraq's parliament can be invaded by a suicide bomber then I would think she's at far greater risk in skipping through Iran. She can't hide while she's there, heavens no, she might miss a photo opp !!

I so agree about Pelosi acting as if she's the general in charge here, she's not doing simple and effective diplomacy - for that would mean ongoing discussions which are not broadcast from every media outlet on the planet so that indeed accords can be achieved and THEN announced.

This is a sham and perhaps she's foolishly taking a personal risk if she does go to Iran, for if Iraq's parliament can be invaded by a suicide bomber then I would think she's at far greater risk in skipping through Iran. She can't hide while she's there, heavens no, she might miss a photo opp !!

y'all would probably make me wear that ugly scarf if I said what I truly think of Ms. Pelosi and her trip.... she has single handedly set women back a million years and given comfort and aid to those that only wish to harm us...

Anna sent me an editoral about how what she did was treason, and yes that is what I believe... I can't even post coherently about it... I get so upset and angry and I worry for this country....

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To accomplish great things we must not only act but also dream, not only plan but also believe. Author: Anatole